Not a Chance, The Music's Getting Faster
by Adesso e Fortuna
Summary: As the snow of a Washington winter comes in, Dante and Trish receive a plea to help a very broken family in Ireland. A family that had been ripped to shreds by Hell itself.
1. Explosive

Dante doesn't belong to me. He belongs to Capcom. That's the first and last time I'm saying that.   
Now... ON WITH THE STORY!!  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
Dante sat alone in his leather chair, contemplating lonely tendencies. He had his feet propped atop his desk and the TV volume turned down low. He glanced at his watch. It was time to leave.   
  
  
~*~  
  
  
The silver-haired man stepped into the smokey bar, alight with barely working lamps. There was a lesbian couple in the corner on each other's laps and drunken men screaming senselessness at a TV. An aging man that smelled like alchohol at behind the counter, wiping off a shot glass. A stripper was making rounds at tables, with dollar bills tucked into her bosom. The corner of Dante's mouth twitched. He'd definetely seen worse places than this.  
  
  
Spotting his client alone at a table, he set himself down in a chair and gave her one of his famous glares that could melt butter. The girl, passive and unphased sat there in silence for a moment.  
  
  
"I think there's something odd happening at the church."  
  
  
"What are you, a nun?" Dante asked, smirking slightly.  
  
  
"A shelter worker," She snapped.  
  
  
"Delia, is that all the shit you're willing to give me?"   
  
  
The blonde sat up a bit, making her blue highlights shine in the light, something that Dante gave care to notice too. "An eight year old child ended up dead in an alley way looking like someone had ran a chain-saw through him."  
  
  
He twitched. How very odd it was for a demon to attack something like that, "Which church?"  
  
  
"I already gave you the address, didn't I?"   
  
  
Dante nodded and got up, over his shoulder he tossed, "I want the bill by Wednesday."  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
A small girl was sitting in an alley way, with her chin resting on her knees and her eyes half closed and a wad of bills curled in her hand. She was pretending to sleep, keeping alert while she waited for what she wanted.  
  
  
'Won't be long, will it?'   
  
~*~  
  
Dante sped down the streets, tearing through the city. It was already one o'clock in the morning and Trish would be waiting for him. Over the past few months, thw duo had been talking the evil seas of hell's armies that terrorized the streets of Manhattan. Yes, ironically, a demon hunter also poised as a part time journalist. The proposition made his friends laugh sometimes, even though he had only a small smatter of them.  
  
He cranked up the volume on his stereo, the band AFI pounding on his windows.   
  
  
"There's no two ways, you're a disgrace.  
  
Drown down your fear, suffocate every spark of clarity.  
  
Your weakness: sickens me, saddens me, strengthens me.  
  
There's no way to free responsibility.  
  
Who's to blame? Who's in the wrong?"  
  
  
He nodded his head slightly to the beat, letting him lose himself in the music as he sped down the freeway.   
  
  
~*~  
  
  
Trish stood in the doorway, listening to Dante explain the details of their next assignment.  
  
  
"By a church? Jesus fuck that's weird." Trish said as she yawned.  
  
  
"Poor babe, you tired?" Dante asked, looping his arm around her.  
  
  
Trish scowled and leaned her head against his chest, "Don't call me babe, damnit."  
  
  
'It was like some sort of Russian dance' Dante thought to himself as he saw Trish's sultry look.  
  
  
He moaned softly as he felt her hand run across his chest and closed his eyes, 'Life's not so bad this way,' he thought as he lowered his head to her. 'Not bad at all.'  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
The girl stood outside the window as she watched the man and woman touching eachother while leaning over the desk. Her face was sullen and worn, with the falling rain streaking her pale skin. It was getting cold, and if she didn't finish up soon, there'd be real trouble.   
  
~*~  
  
Arkadi stood on the sidewalk, her skin starting to cover with thick, cracked armour that melded into her flesh. It burned, but she felt not a thing. She had run out of tears and pain long before.  
  
Wings exploded from her small backl, ripping human skin. The large regalness of the black leathery skin stretched to span the building. When she was done her transformation, she stepped forward, raw energy spurring in her veins.  
  
  
Flinging open the door, a small ball of heat was formed in her hand, and she cast it without thought towards the lovers.  
  
  
Snapping back into human form from the exaustion, she sped back down the street, running as fast as her size four feet could carry her. The only thing she was thiking was that fourteen year olds should not be carrying out assassination missions.  
  
  
Before she could even turn the corner, she stumbled and fell. Well, not stumbled, more deliberately pulled to the floor. A large man had his hand on the back of her throat. Arkad swore and bit his hand, and jumped to make her escape. She stopped dead in her tracks when a woman stood in her way.  
  
  
She slowed her breathing. Two regular humans. She could them with a wave of her hand.  
  
  
"Dante, what do you think?" The blonde asked snidely.  
  
  
The man named Dante said nothing and simply glared at her with an intense look. Arkadi stared right back.  
  
  
"I want to know why you did that NOW." Dante demanded.  
  
  
Arkadi smirked, returning the same badass look Dante was emenating. This was gonna take a long long time. 


	2. Just Do It

Sorry that this had taken so long, I accidentally deleted Word from my PC. So here I am on Adam's PC, slowly taking over his computer and typing away. Lol  
  
~*~  
  
I'm a fountain of blood In the shape of a girl You're the Bird on the brim Hypnotized by the whirl Bjork; Bachlorette  
  
~*~  
  
Dante tightened his grip on her wrist, twisting her arm to her back. Arkadi was putting up a brilliantly resilient fight, pushing a squirming, biting and snapping. Dante, who was twice her size, was having a hard time keeping her still.  
  
Sinking her jaws into the skin on his hands, she kicked him in the shin. Dante yelped but didn't let go. A bit more of this and a few bones would break.  
  
"Will you just stay still? Who are you anyway?" Dante demanded, placing a knee on her back.  
  
Infuriated that they had managed to drag her into their headquarters, Arkadi struggled even more. With a moment of contemplation, she stopped her fighting and lay still. Dante stopped too, letting the girl stew for a moment. Caught completely off guard, he was thrown off, and Arkadi sped towards the door with Ebony and Ivory in her hands. The girl slammed through the streets. Spotting a street lamp, Arkadi scurried recklessly up the pole, somersaulting onto the top. Knowing that her form would be invisible from the ground below, she slowed her hard breathing and peered down below. Dante was storming towards her, cursing. The blonde, whom Arkadi had heard been called Trish was behind him.  
  
"That wasn't normal." Trish commented as they scanned the scene.  
  
"No kidding." Dante replied, placing his hands on his knees.  
  
"She actually wore you out, hm?" Trish said breathlessly in amazement.  
  
"Yea, just a little."  
  
"She's not here." Trish said quietly as she scanned the dead ended alley.  
  
"I'm gonna check the roofs." Dante said, regaining composure.  
  
Arkadi froze. 'I think I could be in trouble.'  
  
"I'll take the right hand side." Trish said, and leapt upwards.  
  
Dante watched her leave and in turn, vaulted onto the building face. He delicately plucked himself onto the roof and stood there for a moment. His attention snapped to a figure slinking towards the ground.  
  
"Hey!" Dante yelled, knowing immediately who it was.  
  
'Damn my blond hair!' Arkadi thought as she barreled down the deserted roads. She took another corner but was pulled roughly to the side. Snarling, Arkadi without hesitance began kicking for freedom. Ebony and Ivory dropped from her hands and Trish took a handful of hair and yanked. Never once did Arkadi scream, and she herself was positive she never would.  
  
~*~  
  
"Holy shit she's strong!" Dante observed as both he and Trish held her down.  
  
"This is ridiculous! It's taking both of us to hold down a teenager!" Trish said, strenuously trying to tie her up.  
  
Dante for a moment once again lost his grip, earning him a square kick in the face. The hit was going to leave a mark, and he wasn't too happy about that.  
  
Arkadi gritted her teethm wondering if she should give either of them a good spat in the face.  
  
"Dear God, we just want to know why you attacked us!" Trish yelled in frustration.  
  
"I suggest that you try not to make us mad." Dante growled.  
  
"Funny, I'm already pissed as HELL!" Arkadi smirked.  
  
"Tell us why you're here." Dante said, cocking his gun.  
  
Arkadi heard a click of a weapon. She turned her voice smooth as cream and said, "And will you fuck me afterwards?"  
  
Trish delivered a kick in the gut, making her blanch.  
  
"Destroyer of Mundus, I've come to avenge him." Arkadi whispered, as if she had turned into some sort of record player.  
  
"Whoa." Dante said stupefied.  
  
"What'd you expect?" Trish asked vehemently, glaring at Dante.  
  
"Ok, explain who you are." Dante said slowly.  
  
"My name is Arkadi." The girl put simply, as though it were obvious.  
  
"Hey, I've heard of you before." Dante said, "Bear Child?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Trish asked, placing a hand on her waist.  
  
"Rumor on the streets is that some demon child is running through the streets. Somebody even said that it was the reincarnation of the Devil"  
  
"THE Devil?" Trish asked, with her lips pursed.  
  
"Or so I've heard." Dante said.  
  
Arkadi thought about this for a minute. She could play this to her advantage.  
  
"Why don't you join us?" She asked, straining her neck to look at Dante.  
  
Dante sniggered as though she had just asked him to stick a knife through his jugular, "Like hell I would."  
  
"You and me? We could have a helluva time." Arkadi continued. "And besides, I'd like to see what you can do. In other words, fight me and try to defeat me."  
  
"What makes you think I can't?" Dante inclined, kneeling to glare at her face.  
  
"Just a guess." She replied sweetly.  
  
~*~  
  
Dante stood on the rain-slicked roof of DNC, his red cape flapping in the wind, Arkadi stood before him, looking rather placid. A storm cloud was stripping its way through the sky, and the streets were dimming as lights were turned off. Trish stood to the side, a makeshift referee.  
  
Dante stood for a little while, looking at the other. For some reason, she was making no move to attack, just sitting there looking half asleep, as though she was in a trance.  
  
"Dante!" Trish yelled, "Get out of there!!"  
  
Dante looked at the floor, as it smoked and turned green. Already, the rubber of his soles had stared melding against the concrete surface.  
  
"Shit!" Dante said, leaping up as fire sprung from the ground.  
  
Arkadi wasn't even close to being done with him yet. Armed with several slabs of molten rock in her hands, she hurled them at Dante, who immediately activated his Devil Trigger. As his skin hardened and cracked, wings exploded from his back and horns protruded from the sides of his head. Clasping his hands together, spurts of lightning sprang and snapped in the air. A river of energy was cascading at Arkadi and being a bit too slow to dodge, was slammed into the building ledge. She laid still, her eyes close and muscles taut.  
  
Dante hovered in the air for a moment, cautiously examining the scene. Rain had started drizzling and his energy was getting low. As his feet lightly touched the ground, something hit his back with incredible force. Stumbling, he saw Arkadi stand.  
  
"What? Tired already?" Aradi asked, looking at him devilishly.  
  
"That sneaky bitch," Trish muttered.  
  
"Poor guy," She cooed, "Well, might as well finish this up."  
  
With a wave of her hand, the thunderstorm above sparked anew, tossing a bolt of lightning at the place Dante stood. When the spark hit him, he yelled, falling to his feet. His skin was smoking. Dante looked at his opponent enraged. Arkadi had disappeared, leaving nothing behind but Dante's wounds and the seared markings on the concrete. 


	3. Poker Babies

"You are one who could never face yourself," A dark figure stood poised with a sword in hand, the blade gleaming against the mounting darkness that suffocated and stilled Dante's beating heart.   
  
"Which is why. . . which is why you could never defeat me!"  
  
Like a cracking pain on the side of his head, a flash of night sparked its way into the back of Dante's head, hearing something. . .an understood, completely unknown something.  
  
~*~  
Arkadi blanched as a hand larger than her head dug its fingers into her chest. Her knees buckled against the wall, which had cracked under her wight when she was thrown against it.  
  
"Fool! You've endangered our clan, and now you tell us that you didn't suceed in your mission?"  
  
The voice hissed in her ear, making it sting.  
  
"It's not like. . . I chose to join your group anyway." Arkadi choked.  
  
A chorus of protest and debate rose from the sidelines. The cacophony of murmering was enough to make Arkadi sick alone. The thin girl cried out, feeling blood spurt from her wounds.  
  
"If you don't like it, then I guess we'll have to. . . convince you,"  
  
"Dekim, stop!" Arkadi cried, already knowing what he was referring to. "Leave her alone. . . just leave her. . ."  
  
The masked being laughed, and held out a hand. Almost immediately, a woman appeared at his side with a small child in her arms.  
  
The baby girl was a small thing, with perfect blonde curls matting her forehead. She was sound asleep.  
  
Arkadi stood motionless, simply staring at the girl.   
  
"Now that I have your undivided attention," Dekim said slowly, his tone barely audible, "I believe we have a few things to discuss. . ."  
  
~*~  
  
"So. . . how long have you been doing this type of work?"   
  
Dante smiled slightly, looking at the petite brunette in front of him.   
  
"A few years," he replied slowly, not letting the other catch onto how reluctant he was to reveal that information.  
  
"I see," She said syruply, lightly staring at him. "So, I believe you have enough expierience to rid me of my current problem?"  
  
Dante chuckled heartily to himself, "Well, if you wanted, I could do a helluva lot more than that!"  
  
"Well, fantastic," She leaned forward, "I'll call you tomorrow then."  
  
Gathering her purse and jacket, the brunette licked her lips, casting one last glance at the incredibly attractive man she was leaving behind.   
  
Upon exiting DNC, she walked casually into an alleyway. It was dark, and completely shadowed from anyone from the open road. There, she dropped the magical disguise like an actor stripping off his costume.   
  
Arkadi stood in place of the brown haired woman Dante had met, readjusting her jacket and throwing away the old beaten purse in her hand.   
  
'Perfect. . .' Arkadi mused to herself, flipping away a strand of blonde hair from her eyes, 'Just perfect.'  
  
~*~  
  
Dante leaned in his chair, feeling exaustion settle into his bones. For him, his heart and mind were always wayed down with something and today was definetely not an exception. The dream he had last night was still playing in the back of his head. and he kept hearing some sort of soundless music.   
  
'It could just be a hang over' Dante thought, looking at the empty bottles on his desk. Of course, they had all been emptied several days ago, and Dante felt no compulsion to clean it up.  
  
"Truth is hard to come by nowadays," Trish had said to him before leaving. "But finding it had always been the hardest part"  
  
In Dante's eyes, his business partner was amazingly philosophical for a demon. But maybe that was because several others considered Dante shallow. He couldn't blame them, he thought the same thing.  
  
Dante turned his attention back to last night's occurence.   
  
"It's not a big deal, I've had worse before," Dante murmered to himself, heading toward the fridge. Realizing it was empty, he sank into his soft leather couch.  
  
'Christ, what the hell's the matter with me?'  
  
What infuriated him was the figure he had seen. A girl with a saber in her hands, contradicting all Dante believed and patronizing him. He could still hear her too.  
  
'You could never look at yourself and accept the person you are. You're ashamed of it. If you've already broken yourself, how do you expect to ever defeat those who stand in your way?"  
  
~*~  
  
Vivaldi, or Viv as Arkadi had nicknamed her, was laying in her mother's arms, eyes shut and two perfect hands curled up in fists. Arkadi looked down at her daughter as she breast fed the child. They'd be done in a second, and Dekim's idiot thugs would be here to collect them.   
  
A small steam of milk was falling from Viv's mouth, which Arkadi wiped away carefully.   
  
Burping her, Arkadi tugged open the door, which squeaked loudly on its rusted hinges.   
  
Heavy rock music poured from the hallway and two men sat cross legged in the hallway, a deck of cards and dollar bills between them.   
  
"Fucking bastard," one of them muttered as the other laid down a full house.   
  
"Hey boys, how's it going?" Arkadi asked casually.  
  
"Arkadi, get your ass over here and show this loser how to play cards."   
  
The one with spiked blonde hair stood up, leaving room for Arkadi to sit down. The lithe man, who Arkadi knew as Kahlo, leaned back against the wall, dealing out five worn cards.  
  
Arkadi swept them into her hands, rearranging the order. Tossing away two cards, she took two new ones from the pile.  
  
"How many draws?"  
  
"Make it three." He replied passively, as he stared intently at his cards.  
  
"Wilds are aces then." Arkadi said, adjusting her baby into her lap.  
  
With a few more draws, Arkadi had a four of a kind assembled in her hand.   
  
"I believe we each betted a hundred bucks on this?" Arkadi asked, staring Kahlo in the eye.  
  
"Damn straight we did." He replied, reordering his cards.  
  
"Lay 'em down then." Arkadi said, watching him place a flush on the floor.  
  
Arkadi, keeping a straight face placed her four sixes on the floor. She winked and stuffed the bills in her pocket.   
  
Kahlo laughed in amusement, his eyes shining. A large contrast to his normally dull gaze.   
  
A rumble was heard down the hallway. At this, Arkadi got up and wrapped Viv in her arms.   
  
Whispering she said, "Looks like this is out cue. . ."  
  
~*~  
  
Well, how was it? I know, atad boring, but I covered some important points in this! 


	4. Invitation to the Emerald Isle

"To your left!" Dante yelled to Trish, before firmly embedding Alastor into the heart of a serpent.  
  
"Damnit!" Trish spat, as she back flipped gracefully out of harm's way.  
  
A snake the size of a car snapped its fangs at the empty air, wheeling around desperately to pursue its victim.  
  
The Evangelical Church on Hobeis Ave was over run with deadly five-foot snakes. Long, means, and hideously distempered and discolored, they wielded not only poisonous fangs, but also scythes on the end of their tails.  
  
Dante and Trish had no idea about the scythes until they had exploded from the ends of their tails and hissed.  
  
"Dante, why did you have to leave your guns at home?" Trish wailed, before taking Sparda and hacked off a snakehead.  
  
Dante laughed. "Like we'll need them."  
  
Suddenly, a blade rushed forward, giving him a deep cut on his cheek.  
  
He looked up. Towering above him was a large snake twice the size of the others, with poison dripping freely from its open mouth. The venom poured onto the flour, burning the carpets, but its eyes were completely shut. However, its rider was what surprised Dante the most. Delia was sitting calmly on its head, looking rather amused.  
  
"Sleep now," She commanded, and the serpent she was riding opened its eyes, the fires of a sleeping hell burning in them.  
  
The duo took one look and fell, over, never knowing what hit them.  
  
~*~  
  
Arkadi looked at the dozing couple on the floor, and gave Dante a kick for good measure. He didn't even wince. Arkadi smiled slightly to herself and watched as the severed snakes on the floor repaired themselves, and slithered to her side.  
  
"We can't kill them just yet, so we'll just enlighten them a bit," Arkadi whispered softly to the larger of the snakes, who unwrapped itself from its scaled skin and showed itself as a handsome man.  
  
"Of course my dear," he replied, kneeling low and kissing her hand softly.  
  
Arkadi wrenched her hand away from him and walked over to Dante, and began to sing a story to him.  
  
~*~  
  
Dante stirred slightly in his sleep, and woke to realize he was soaking wet.  
  
"Where are we?" Trish wondered.  
  
They were standing on a very sodden beach, and a small village was standing off the coast, and the little huts were spurting small wisps of smoke.  
  
A girl was screaming loudly as she was dragged her knees towards them by a tall, hulking man, twice her size and spluttering with rage. As they came closer, Dante and Trish could hear snatches of conversation.  
  
"I have been sinned by your, you whorish tramp!!" He bellowed, as the girl cried out again.  
  
"I was never committed to you!!" she screamed in reply, and was boldly belted in the face with a leather club.  
  
"You are my PROPERTY!!" he snarled, and grasping her more firmly by the hand, threw her forward and unbuttoned his pants.  
  
"Wait, STOP!!" she shrieked.  
  
"It's time you learnt some respect!" he replied bitingly, and kneeled down.  
  
~*~  
  
Dante bolted out from his sleep to look at the kind face of a bishop.  
  
"My dear boy, how ARE you doing?" he asked.  
  
Dante blinked once and wondered if he had finally died and landed in hell. The weird hat and cloak were odd enough for him, but the bishop's expression was really starting to disturb him. It was peaceful and serene, yet there was something lingering behind it that signaled something foreboding and dangerous.  
  
Dante got up uneasily and pushed the stranger out of the way as he staggered uneasily to his feet.  
  
"Bloody hell." he murmured, and pushed his way out the door to find Trish.  
  
~*~  
  
Dodlin looked at Arkadi and smiled. Arkadi "humped" and turned away from her servant, trying not to break under his gaze.  
  
Dodlin had been rather been "assigned" to her, and been working behind the scenes for her. She despised him, and he was a mystery to her.  
  
"Did you do it?" she demanded to know.  
  
"I've made sure that those two will know of our story." He informed. Arkadi sensed that he was indeed satisfied.  
  
She relaxed her shoulders sighed as he extended his teeth and sunk the slowly into her shoulder. A few moments later, Arkadi was passive in his arms, where he carried her to his bed.  
  
~*~  
  
"I cannot believe this." Trish growled and slammed down the receiver.  
  
"It's one thing to double cross us, but it's another completely to ditch our bill, hm Trish?" Dante asked, propping his feet atop his desk.  
  
"No phone call from Delia, any money orders, checks, no NOTHING!" Trish steamed. She turned towards Dante, "And why are you so calm about this?"  
  
Dante shrugged. He was oddly elated these past few days.  
  
Trish twitched slightly.  
  
"I'm going to sleep," he announced suddenly, and clambered out of his chair and into his room down the hall.  
  
Trish, perplexed, followed after him.  
  
"Dante, what-"  
  
"Never mind Trish," Dante said irritably, waving her away.  
  
"But-?  
  
"Shut up, will you?" Dante was looking annoyed now, like he usually was when somebody was invading his privacy.  
  
Trish turned on her heels and headed back to the main office of DNC, and flopped lazily into her chair.  
  
The phone rang, and Trish reached for it; a now reflex.  
  
"Devil Never Cry." Trish said placidly.  
  
A sweet sounding voice greeted her, "Hello, are you the private investigators?"  
  
"It is," Trish, replied, "Can I ask who's calling?"  
  
"This is Lydia," she lowered her voice, "I'm in desperate need of your help. Please come to the Angel Grove Center tonight at 10:00pm."  
  
"What type of help are you talking about?" Trish asked tensely, praying for once that it'd be a real job.  
  
"The demonic kind," Lydia said, and hung up. 


End file.
